Chivhu tragedy: Man loses wife, 5 children

Victor Maphosa in Chivhu

Five out of the 27 people who died in the Chivhu accident disaster were members of the same family on an annual African Apostolic Church pilgrimage to Mvuma.

Mr Albert Magiya, from Dema lost his wife and five children and is lucky not to have been in the kombi after opting for private transport on noticing that it was full.

The accident took place at the 132km peg, near Chivhu, when a commuter omnibus colliding head-on with a South African-registered haulage truck.

Out of the 27 victims, 22 were identified, while the remaining five will undergo DNA forensic tests.

The passengers were members of the Mwazha sect travelling from Dema to Ndarikure in Mvuma for a conference.

Speaking to The Herald on the sidelines of a memorial service held at Chivhu General Hospital, Mr Magiya said when he arrived at the scene, his wife was still alive.

“On the day, my mind kept on telling me not to go to the conference. I could feel that something was wrong, though I could not actually tell what exactly was wrong.

“I kept on having the same feeling until I approached my wife and told her that we should not go,” he recalled.

“My wife and children pleaded with me to reconsider, but I told them that I had a bad feeling about travelling to the conference.

“However, they kept on pleading and I reluctantly gave in. So we packed everything that we would need and in the afternoon we went to the bus stop where a hired kombi was supposed to pick us.

“The kombi came, and we loaded our luggage. However, I noticed that it was overloaded. So me and my friend decided to use public transport to the venue,” Mr Magiya said.

He said along the way, near Chivhu, he heard that the kombi had a fatal accident.

“After leaving my family in that kombi, we then boarded a bus with my colleague.

“I did not even know that was the last moment to see my wife and my children alive.

“We travelled well, until we reached near the accident scene where there was a traffic jam. At first, I thought it was just another road block and as vehicles moved slowly we reached the scene. The first thing that I saw was a kombi which had caught fire,” Mr Magiya narrated further.

“I even realised it was the same kombi with my wife and children. We quickly disembarked and what I saw outside broke my heart. People were dead. Some of the bodies were still trapped inside the kombi, and they too were burning. It looked like some of the passengers had been thrown out of the kombi due to the head on collision.

“I saw my wife, she was still breathing. I saw my children, four of them, lifeless. But I could not see the my other child, and I am told she is among the five who were burnt beyond recognition and now awaits forensic process.”

Mr Magiya said the tragedy is unbearable and painful.

“Ndarasikirwa nevana nemudzimai. Ndiri kurwadziwa. Pain yacho handizivi kuti ichapera seyi. Imba yangu yaparadzwa.

“I remain hopeful that one day, I will be able to meet them spiritually. I am hopeful that God has granted them peace, wherever they are because they perished while on their way to a church gathering. But I am hurting.

“I want to thank our Government for coming in with all the assistance from coffins to food. I remain thankful, I remain hopeful.”

Mr Emmanuel Bonda, who lost a wife and three children could not stop shedding tears, as the chief mourner, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe consoled him.

For Mr Bonda, he got alarmed after her wife failed to pick up calls.

“She packed her clothes and that of the kids around 12 and by 2 pm they were already in the kombi. One thing that she was complaining about was that the kombi was overloaded. She even asked me if I knew of anyone who had a vehicle going to the same conference so that she and the kids could get a lift, but I knew no one. I wished them a safe journey.

“When I finished work, I decided to check on them, but my wife’s mobile phone went unanswered. I kept on trying and with no response. I just told myself that maybe she had concealed it in her purse.

“When I got home, I received calls from other church members who were already at the conference informing me of the accident. I informed my work mates and they assisted me to get to the accident scene,” he narrated the heartrending incident.

He said when he arrived at the scene, he was told that people were only injured and had been rushed to hospital.

“We were told that some people were injured and were rushed to hospital and we could only see them on the next day. Today we went to the hospital and that is when I was told that a lot of people had died.

“The first person I identified was my son, then others. I am so hurt. Losing my entire family, just like that is unbearable,” he said.

Mr Tawanda Mushonga who lost his wife said he last talked to his wife over the phone around 2pm.

He said the accident has robbed him of his friend, wife and a mother to his children.

“What will I tell my children when they ask me about their mother. This is painful,” Mr Mushonga said.

“On that day, I last talked to my wife around 2pm. Then around 7pm, I decided to call again just to check if they had travelled well. Her phone was just ringing. It went unanswered. I called several times and still got the same result.

“I was at work by then and decided to recharge my phone. But then a work mate came to me saying a lot of people were trying to reach me on my mobile phone and when I checked it, I had a lot of missed calls.

“On returning all those missed calls, that’s when one of the callers informed me of the accident. I am a driver by profession and I have seen a lot of accidents but what I saw on that night is something that I do not want to witness again. People died. The driver of that kombi was trapped on the front seat and the kombi was on fire. It was horrible.

“I saw my wife, lifeless. She was there, injured and my heart broke. It is painful to lose someone you love dearly. This accident has created a void in my life, in my family and I just do not know how my children will take it.

“What will I become without the mother of my children. Yes, this is the will of God but it is painful. Just knowing that I will never see her again is unbearable,” he said narrating the heart wrenching scene.

“Thank you Government for coming to assist us.”

President Mnangagwa has since declared the tragedy a national disaster, which means all the bereaved families will be assisted to give a decent burial to their loved ones.

Government is assisting in the treatment of the six others who were injured during the accident.

Addressing mourners during the church services, Minister Garwe appealed to the bereaved families to be strong in this difficult moment.

Minister Garwe went on to say the bereaved families are not facing the tragedy alone but the President and the entire nation are with them.

“President Mnangagwa has his people at heart. He loves everyone and is deeply moved by this tragedy that has affected all of us,” he said.

“When I heard about this tragedy, I was hurt. I knew as families, you could not shoulder this alone, and as a Ministry, we could not also face it alone, so I immediately informed our listening President who did not waste time to declare this a national disaster. This is why Government is now giving assistance to the bereaved families.

“President Mnangagwa’s message to us all today, is to console you in this difficult time. The whole nation is in mourning. Recently, we were in Kariba, where another tragedy occurred and tears have not dried and now we are faced with this tragedy. This is painful and we all need to mourn together and give each other strength.”

Minister Garwe appealed to traditional leaders and churches to pray for the nation for the spirit of death to be stopped.

Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Felix Mhona said what happened was sad, painful and the nation should join hands in consoling the bereaved.

“It is sad that we are gathered here at this place, with tears in our eyes, mourning the sad departure of our loved ones, who perished in a road traffic accident. It is painful that out loved ones are perishing due to road accidents.

“This is painful. I appeal to all of you to remain strong and be comforted in these difficult moments.

“I appeal to motorists to be cautious on the roads. Do not speed, do not overload and adhere to all stipulated road rules and regulations. Let us all be responsible road users,” he said.

Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Tatenda Mavetera said the affected families were close to her and when she heard about the tragedy, she was heartbroken, pained and hurt.

“I received a call notifying me about the accident around 10pm. I was shocked. I know most of the affected families because I once worked with them in Seke. So to me they are like family.

“I just want to say to the bereaved families, be comforted. You are not alone in this. We are together in mourning our loved ones,” she said.